AmDe°cU,r]&89arm'}      Besin  of  Myoporum  Platycarpum.  623 
it  is  invariable  in  the  case  of  moderate  or  middle-sized  ones.  However, 
there  does  not  exist  any  strict  parallelism  between  the  dose  and  the 
amount  of  the  inhibition  of  the  metabolism. 
(5)  The  decrease  remains  still  perceptible  for  some  while,  even  after 
discontinuing  alcohol. 
(6)  It  is  probably  dependent  mainly  upon  alcohol  inhibiting  the 
systemic  oxidation  processes  (V.  A.  Mauassei'n,  Schmiedeberg, 
Boecker),  and  farther,  upon  its  deviating  the  blood  pressure,  dilat- 
ing blood-vessels,  retarding  the  circulation,  and  depressing  the  bodily 
temperature. 
(7)  Alcohol  also  diminishes  somewhat  the  assimilation  of  fats  (to 
judge  from  the  fact  that  the  amount  of  fatty  acids  eliminated  with 
faeces  is  augmented). 
(8)  It  does  not  possess  any  diuretic  action;  on  the  contrary,  it 
rather  tends  to  inhibit  the  elimination  of  water  by  the  kidney,  which 
after  all,  should  be  expected  beforehand,  since  alcohol  dilates  cutaneous 
blood-vessels  and  depresses  the  arterial  tension,  that  is,  favors  cuta- 
neous perspiration,  and  interferes  with  the  renal  action.  [As  a  matter 
of  fact,  in  two  patients,  the  daily  amount  of  the  urine  remained  unal- 
tered ;  in  five,  it  increased  on  an  average  7  per  cent.,  while  in  eight  it 
fell  12  per  cent.]. 
(9)  Such  organs  as  are  not  habituated  to  the  use  of  alcohol  show  a 
much  stronger  reaction  towards  the  substance  than  habituated  ones. 
THE  RESIN  OF  MYOPORUM  PLATYCARPUM. 
By  J.  H.  Maiden,  F.L.S.,  Curator  of  the  Technological  Museum,  Sydney. 
A  veritable  natural  sealing-wax  is  yielded  by  a  small  tree  which  is 
found  in  the  interior  of  Australia  ;  it  occurs  in  the  more  arid  portions 
of  all  the  colonies  except  Queensland.  The  tree  is  Myoporum  platy- 
carpum, R.  Br.,  and  it  possesses  a  variety  of  local  names,  such  as 
"  Sandalwood,"  "  Dogwood,"  and  "  Sugar  tree the  latter  because 
a  manna  exudes  from  it  which  is  greedily  sought  after  by  the  blacks, 
and  is  likewise  much  appreciated  by  colonists.  It  yields  a  resin, 
which  is  used  by  the  aboriginals  as  a  substitute  for  pitch  and  wax  ; 
for  example,  they  use  it  either  alone,  or  mixed  with  fat,  to  cement 
the  stone  heads  of  their  tomahawks  to  the  fibre  which  joins  them 
to  the  stick  forming  the  handle.  As  has  been  already  hinted,  it 
forms  a  natural  sealing-wax,  and  is  sometimes  used  by  people  in 
